Gather around, everyone! It's time to patch this week's security flaws. Microsoft and Adobe products have important just-released fixes that you need to install as soon as possible. Microsoft released nine updates today, two of which were labeled as "critical" flaws. A critical flaw means that malware can infect your system without your consent.

Most malware has to be installed by the user, but "critical" updates are for security holes that let a hacker get around that. Internet Explorer and Media Center have the critical flaws, so be sure to update those as soon as possible.